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Articles by Mark Wilson

BJS Report Finds 53% of Prisoners Are Parents

BJS Report Finds 53% of Prisoners Are Parents

by Mark Wilson

About 809,800 (53%) of America’s 1,518,535 prisoners in 2007 were parents of minor children, according to a Special Report of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). Fifty-two percent of state prisoners and 63 percent of ...

BJS Report Reveals Parole Supervision Characteristics

In 2006, nearly 68,000 state employees supervised 660,959 adult parolees – about 83 percent of 798,202 total parolees – according to a Special Report of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). Parole officers had an average caseload of 28 active parolees.

Approximately half of the nation’s ...

Felony Disenfranchisement Reforms Restore Voting Rights to 760,000

Felony Disenfranchisement Reforms Restore Voting Rights to 760,000

by Mark Wilson

Since 1997, 19 states have eased felony disenfranchisement laws and policies, resulting in the restoration of voting rights to at least 760,000 people, according to The Sentencing Project (TSP).

TSP “is a national non-profit organization engaged in research and ...

Oregon Jailer Avoids Prosecution for Online Assault Boast; Jail Employees Lose Internet Access

Oregon Jailer Avoids Prosecution for Online Assault Boast; Jail Employees Lose Internet Access

by Mark Wilson

An Oregon jail guard who bragged in an online forum that he beat a prisoner and then had the prisoner charged criminally will not face charges himself, according to the Multnomah County District Attorney’s ...

Audit Faults New York Prison Oversight

The New York State Commission of Correction (SCOC) is failing to fulfill its prison and jail oversight duties, according to an audit released on August 25, 2008 by the State Comptroller.

SCOC is responsible for overseeing New York’s 69 adult prisons, 4 secure juvenile prisons, 77 county jails and 317 ...

Utah Sex Offender Internet Registry Statute Violates First Amendment

On September 25, 2008, a federal court in Utah enjoined the enforcement of an amended statute requiring the state’s 7,000 registered sex offenders to report all of their Internet identifiers, including user names, passwords and website addresses.

In 2005, a Utah man identified as John Doe was convicted of sex ...

Oregon Juvenile Facility Warden Indicted; Youth Authority Director Resigns

Oregon Juvenile Facility Warden Indicted; Youth Authority Director Resigns

by Mark Wilson

From 2000 to 2007, Darrin Humphreys served as warden of the RiverBend Youth Detention Center, a 50-bed Oregon Youth Authority (OYA) facility in LaGrande, Oregon.

Supervisors were so impressed with his performance that they promoted him to head ...

Washington Jail Remodel Violated State Law, at a Cost of $51.6 million

King County, Washington officials violated state law by failing to get competitive bids on a security upgrade project at the King County Correctional Facility, according to a March 12, 2008 state audit. Originally slated at $14.2 million, the cost of the project has skyrocketed to $51.6 million.

A nationally recognized ...

Jail Nurse Guilty of Forging Doctor’s Order; Forged Orders Common Jail Practice

Jail Nurse Guilty of Forging Doctor’s Order; Forged Orders Common Jail Practice

by Mark Wilson

On August 28, 2008, a Multnomah County, Oregon jury convicted a former jail nurse of forging a drug prescription for a prisoner who died hours later.

Jody Gilbert Norman, 43, was arrested on February 19, ...

Beleaguered Oregon Sheriff Steps Down

Flamboyant and controversial Multnomah County Sheriff Bernie Giusto, head of Oregon’s largest county jail, has retired in the face of an overwhelming vote to strip him of his badge.

Giusto, a lightning rod for criticism, has been under constant fire for the better part of two years. A 2006 investigation ...